This invention relates generally to tents, and more particularly to tents having self-erecting frames.
Tents of conventional construction typically include a tent shell supported by a frame comprising multiple frame members. These tents are time consuming to erect and strike. For example, one-person tents such as bivouac tents used by backpackers, hunters, fishermen, mountain hikers, kayakers and canoeists, and minimal gear hikers often require two or more tent poles that must be assembled together and attached to the tent by passing the poles through a fabric sleeve of the tent shell. These tent poles are generally carried by the user in a disassembled form, separate from any connection with the tent. As such, the user must assemble and disassemble the tent poles and shell each time the tent is to be erected, used and then collapsed for storage and transport. This process is cumbersome and time consuming and also increases the risk that a tent pole may become separated and lost from the tent.
Numerous efforts have been made to simplify the frames and reduce the number of component members making up the frame. The primary difficulty is that reducing the number of frame members often reduces the stability of the tent. For example the portable fabric structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,887 includes a pair of annular hoops at opposing ends of the structure. However, the generally cylindrical structure defined by these hoops is unstable against roll and requires additional support members carried separately from the structure, thus requiring additional time and effort for connecting the support members to the structure.